Pizza Rules! Photostream

Viva Herbal Pizzeria

In celebration of dairy- and meat-free pizza, tomorrow has been dubbed Vegan Pizza Day. While I could probably never be vegan myself, I am vegetarian and have many vegan friends, so am happy to support an event like this. The official VPD site is pretty cool, with listings of places that have vegan pizza, run downs on vegan-safe frozen pizzas, and other such resources.

I don’t agree with the claims on the site that vegan pizza is “the most awesomest food ever”, however I have had some delicious vegan pizza in my day. Many pizzerias offer simple cheeseless pies under the name “Marinara”, with just sauce and a few other minimal condiments or toppings, like garlic, sea salt, or olive oil. If they’re not vegan-safe as is, they can usually be made so easily. These pies are often neglected because they look boring as hell on paper (i.e. on the menu), but if done right with good ingredients these pies can rival their cheese-laden counterparts.

There’s also the topic of vegan faux cheese. I have yet to have any fake cheese which really does the job for me, but if used with a bunch of other toppings, it can add something to vegan pizza that might otherwise be missing.

In the video below, John Joseph – singer for the legendary 1980s NYC hardcore punk band, the Cro-Mags – talks about his favorite veg spots in NYC, including Viva Herbal Pizzeria. It’s all framed around Joseph’s new book Meat Is For Pussies.